IND vs AFG 2018: Afghanistan is Capable of Causing an Upset, Says Batting Coach Umesh Patwal

Afghanistan batting coach, Umesh Patwal believes his team is capable of causing an upset against India in the historic Test match in Bengaluru. Patwal also compared the Afghan side with the Mumbai Khadoos Army.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan has taken giant strides in the cricket world. Consequently, their players have come through the ranks to deliver the goods. Furthermore, they have shown an upward swing in their improvement graph especially in the T20 form of the game.

Patwal said they don’t play for the sake of it. The batting coach added Afghanistan would look to win their maiden Test match against India.

“We don’t just play for the sake of it, we play to win. We want to create history by not just playing but winning this historical Test. It is a big challenge for us,” Patwal told mid-day over the phone from Bangalore.

Umesh Patwal was Afghanistan’s first batting coach when the team played its first World Cup qualifier in 2011 in Sri Lanka. Thus, Patwal knows the strengths and weaknesses of his team.

“The emphasis is on passion and winning the game. You can call it khadoos attitude. They [Afghanistan] play more attacking cricket,” said Patwal.

Patwal added Afghanistan team management are trying to keep their players calm ahead of the first historic Test match. The batting coach went on to add the there is excitement in the camp.

“It’s obviously historic as now onwards, we will be called a Test nation. We are trying to keep them [the players] calm. There is no fear about playing a Test match… there is a lot of excitement in the camp,” he said.

There is no doubt that Afghanistan cricket has grown in leaps and bounds. Patwal also noted they have a good batting line-up to deliver the goods.

“Javed Ahmadi [opener], Ihsan [Ihsanullah Janat], Ahmad Shirzad, Afsar Zazai, [Mohammed] Shahzad and the captain himself Stanikzai are all good batsmen and it will be a good contest,” he signed off.